Apparatus for operating elevator gates



. J. ROHRDANZ ET AL APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR GATES Filed 'Jan. 11, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A was I June 2,

.1. ROHRDANZ ET AL APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR GATES Filed Jan. 11, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jime 2, 1925.

UNITED STATES JOHN ROI-IRDANZ AND EDWIN ROHRDANZ, 01: BLUE ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR GATES.

Application filed-January 11, 1922. Serial No. 528,512.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J ouN ROHRDANZ and EDWIN ROHRDANZ, citizens of the United States, residing in Blue Island, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Operating Elevator Gates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to apparatus for operating elevator gates, and more particularly to improvements in air controlling and operating mechanism in apparatus of this general character.

A principal object of the invention is the provision of gate operating mechanism which can be manipulated only when the elevator is at a landing.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an air control for the operating mechanism which eliminates the danger of the gate being accidentally opened or closed by a passing elevator.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of automatic, or, at any rate, partially automatic means for operating the gate, requiring merely a single simple operation by the operator after which the opening and closing action is entirely automatic.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of means whereby the gate is closed effectively and with certainty without any attention or action by the operator to accomplish this purpose.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a partial sectional View of an elevator shaft, showing the floor of the elevator and the gate operating mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of said operating mechanism, the position of the elevator being indicated in dotted lines; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail View of the air check-release valve.

For purposes of illustration, We have shown upon the drawings, in diagrannnatic form, a portion of an elevator shaft, comprising side walls 11, end walls 12, and a projecting support and elevator guide 13 extending out from the wall 11 and partially supporting the gate operating mechanism.

Said mechanism is secured to the Wall 12 and extension 13 by means of brackets 14 and 15 provided with sockets which receive the ends of guide rods 16 and 17. A crosshead 18 is slidably secured upon the guide rods 16 and 17, and is adapted to be operated by a piston 19 actuated by means of a plunger (not shown) operating in an air cylinder 21. Pinned to the crosshead 18 is a rack 22 meshing with a gear 23 secured upon a shaft 24 having bearings 25 secured to the support 13. Said rack is held in engagement with-said gear by means of a plate 26 carrying rollers 27 bearing upon the top of the rack, said plate being loosely positioned upon the shaft 24 to prevent vertical movement with respect thereto. The shaft 24 carries also a sheave 28 about which extends a cable 29 passing over a sheave 31 rotatably mounted in a bracket 32 at a higher point on the extension 13, said cable being directed also about guides and 34 and having its opposite end attached at 35 to a gate 36. It will thus be observed that when the crosshead ,18 is moved upon the guide rods 16 and 17 a corresponding movement is imparted to the gate 36 whereby it is raised or lowered.

Air for operating the plunger in the cylinder 21 is supplied through a supply pipe 37 from a suitable source and is communicated from one floor of the building to another by means of a pipe 38 having suitable connection at 39 with the pipe 37. Beyond the connection 39, a portion 41 of the supply pipe communicates with an inlet pipe 42, in which is an air cook 43 which may be of any suitable or approved form. The air cook 43 is operated by means of a lever arm 44 to which is secured a cable or other suitable connection 45 having its upper end secured to a lever 46 fixedly mounted upon a pin 47 having bearings in a bracket 48 secured to the support 13. A hand lever 49 is also rigidly secured to the pin 47 and is in position to be manipulated by the operator when the elevator is at a landing. By operation of the lever 49 air maybe admitted to the cylinder 21 with resultant automatic lifting of the gate 36, as will be understood from the foregoing description. In order to prevent the opening of the gate when no elevator is at alanding, we have provided an air check-release valve, generally indicated by the reference character 51, this valve being secured in a bracket 52 extending from the wall 11. This valve is shown in detail in- Fig. 3, and 'comprises a cylinder 53 having therein a valve seat 54 and apertures 55 and 56 communieating respectively with an extension 57 of the air supply pipe and with the outside air. A valve head 58 is slidably mounted in the cylinder 53 and is provided with a stem 59 surrounded by the end of a coil spring 61. The opposite end of said spring surrounds a push rod 62 provided with a collar 63 and a uare shank 64 non-rotatably secured in a bushing 65 and carrying at its outer end a fork 66 forming a bifurcated end in which is secured a roller 67. A cam 68 is provided upon the elevator and the roller 67 is so positioned that it is struck by said cam when the elevator arrives at a landing. This results in actuation of the valve head 58 which is seated to close the aperture 56 from the aperture 55. With the valve thus closed it will be manifest that'the opening of th air cock 43 will result in the air being admitted to the cylinder 21, with consequent actuation of the crosshead 18 and the other gate operating parts. With this valve open, the opening of the air cock 43 would merely result in the air passing through the valve and out at the aperture 56, and in this manner admission of the air to the cylinder 21 is prevented except when the elevator is at a landing. It will be observed also that even though the valve 51 is closed manual operation of the lever 49 to open the air cook 43 is necessary before the gate can be opened, and thus there is no danger of accidental opening of said gate by the mere passing of the elevator and the striking of the roller 67 by the cam 68.

The cylinder 21 is suitably secured in a bracket 69 attached to the wall 12, and it will be obvious that any suitable type of mounting and arrangement of the air pipes and cylinder may be employed as desired.

The elevator floor is indicated by the reference character 71 and we have shown diagrammatically a lever 72 by which the travel of the elevator is controlled.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing descri )tion, and it will be apparent that various cianges may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form here'inbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprisin air-controlled mechanism for opening t e glate, means for admitting air to operate sai mechanism, and an air checkrelease valve operable by the elevator at a landing to permit operation of said air-controlled lifting mechanism.

2. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprising air-controlled mechanism for opening the gate, manually controlled means for admitting air to operate said mechanism, and an air check-release valve operable by the elevator at a landing to permit operation of said air-controlled liftin mechanism.

3. Apparatus for operating e evator gates, comprising air-controlled mechanism for opening the gate, means for admitting air to operate said mechanism,and an air checkrelease valve operable by the elevator at a landing to permit operation of said air-controlled lifting. mechanism, said air-com trolled lifting mechanism comprising an air cylinder, a piston operating therein, a sliding crosshead operated by said piston, a rack and pinion operated by said crosshead, a sheave rotated by said pinion, and a cable connection between said sheave and the le vator gate whereby the latter is raised and lowered.

4. Apparatus for operating elevator gates,

comprising air-controlled mechanism for opening the gate, means for admittin air to operate said mechanism, and an air clieckrelease valve operable by the elevator at a landing to permit operation of said air-controlled lifting mechanism, said mechanism comprising an air-operated piston, a crosshead controlled thereby, and means whereby the movement of said crosshead operates the elevator gate.

5. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprisin air-controlled mechanism for opening t e gate, means for admitting air to operate said mechanism, and an air checkrelease valve operable by the elevator at a landing to emit operation of said air-controlled lifting mechanism, said mechanism comprising an air-actuated sliding member and means whereby movement of said member automatically operates the elevator gate.

6. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprisingair-controlled mechanism for opening and closing the gate,'and manually operable means for admitting air to operate said mechanism effective only when the elevator is at a landing.

7 Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprising air-controlled ate operating mechanism, means for supp ying air under pressure, and means controlled by the presence or absence of the elevator at a landing for governing the admission of air to oper ate said mechanism, said last mentioned means comprising a .normally open valve freeing and preventing action of air admitted from the source of supply, and means on the elevator for closing said valve when the elevator is at a landing to permit admechanism.

8. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprising air-operated gate controlling mechanism and a check-release valve adapted to prevent admission of air to said mechanism when no elevator is at the landing and operated by an elevator at the landing to permit the operator to admit air to operate said mechanism.

9. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprising air-operated gate controlling mechanism and a check-release valve adapted to prevent admission of air to said mechanism when no elevator is at the landing and operated by an elevator at the landing to permit the operator to admit air to operate said mechanism, said valve comprising a valve cylinder communicably connected with a source of air supply, a valve seat in said cylinder, an aperture in the cylinder and near said valve seat, a valve head movable in said cylinder and adapted, when closed, to prevent passage of air through said aperture, and means comprising a push rod and a roller thereon for closing the valve when said roller is struck by the elevator.

10. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprising air-operated gate controlling mechanism and a check-release valve adapted to prevent admission of air to said mechanism when no elevator is at the landing and operated by an elevator at the landing to permit the operator to admit air to operate said mechanism, said valve comprising a cylinder communicably connected with a source of air supply and provided with an air outlet, a valve operating in said cylinder, and means operated by the elevator at a landing for closing said valve.

11. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprising in combination air-controlled gate operating mechanism, means whereby the operator may admit air to operate said mechanism, an air check-release valve to control admission of air to said mechanism, and a cam on the elevator to close said valve to permit admission of air.

12. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprising in combination air-operated mechanism for opening the gate, manually controlled means for admitting air from a source of supply to said mechanism, and an air check-release valve for controlling the air supplied to said mechanism, said valve being provided with a sliding push rod carrying a roller, and said elevator being provided with a cam adapted to strike said roller when the elevator is at a landing to close said valve and permit admission of air to said mechanism to open the gate.

13. Apparatus for operating elevator gates, comprising a cylinder, a piston mov able in said ylinder and connected to operate the gate, a control valve, a conduit between said control valve and cylinder, said conduit being normally open to exhaust, and means operable by the elevator at a landing to establish operative communication between said valve and said cylinder whereby the piston may be operated by a propulsive medium admitted through said valve.

JOHN ROHRDANZ. EDWIN ROHRDANZ. 

